


a dog named turtle

by lazyfish



Series: Genuary 2021 [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Gen, Referenced Animal Neglect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28653924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazyfish/pseuds/lazyfish
Summary: Sometimes Daisy takes "be gay, do crimes" a bit too seriously.
Relationships: Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie & Skye | Daisy Johnson
Series: Genuary 2021 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2087955
Comments: 16
Kudos: 47





	a dog named turtle

“I’m going to say this again, because I’m not sure I heard you right the first two times. You _stole_ a dog?” Mack swung the door shut behind Daisy, looking disbelievingly at the bundle of fur in her arms.

“I rescued him,” Daisy corrected. “He didn’t even have any water, Mack. I couldn’t just leave him there!”

“You still _stole_ a dog.”

“There weren’t any cameras around. I checked.” He should’ve known that a hacker-turned-activist would know to check for cameras before committing an illegal act. And, as much as Daisy liked to flirt with the edge of the law, she (mostly) didn’t do anything illegal without a pretty damn good reason… like an animal being abused.

Mack sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Okay. So let’s pretend you obtained this dog through totally legal means. Your apartment doesn’t allow pets.”

“But yours does,” Daisy said hopefully. That did explain why she had shown up on his doorstep with a dirty ball of fur with basically zero warning.

“You’re trying to make me an accessory to a felony now, Tremors?”

“Is it really a felony to steal a dog?” Daisy asked, brows knitting together.

“Dunno. But it could be.” Mack wasn’t going to look it up now, not when that evidence could be used to incriminate him later if they got caught. 

“Okay, so if some police guy comes knocking on your door you say the dog is a stray you saw wandering around and you took him in. No problem.”

Mack had already made up his mind even before Daisy gave him the cover story. “We need to get it stuff. A water bowl, a food bowl, _food_ , a bed, toys…” Mack wasn’t going to rescue/steal a dog from a neglectful home just to accidentally put it in an even worse situation because they weren’t prepared. Mack wasn’t entirely sure if there was a situation worse than what Daisy had described to him, but still - he wasn’t going to be that guy.

“I can run to the PetSmart and pick up some stuff. You can watch him, right?”

“I should hope so, if he’s going to be living with me for the foreseeable future,” Mack said drily. Mack had been meaning to get a pet for a while, but he had been debating between a dog and a cat. Now his decision was being made for him, which wasn’t a bad thing, exactly. Just unexpected. 

“Have I told you recently you’re the best friend ever? Because you’re the best friend ever.”

“Flattery isn’t going to make me forget you’re committing a crime.”

“Paying for food at PetSmart cancels that out, right?”

“Daisy. You know _not shoplifting_ is the standard. One legal thing does not cancel out another illegal thing.” Daisy knew that. She had to know that, right?

“I do.” She grinned. “But you’re funny when you’re exasperated.”

“Ha, ha.” Mack said. He was not, in fact, laughing. 

“Try not to kill my dog while I’m gone, okay?”

“Bye _,_ Daisy.”

\---

By the time Daisy came back Mack had coaxed the dog into relaxing somewhat and curling up at his feet. He was going to need to wash his living room carpet after this was over, but it was a small price to pay to see the poor thing stop shaking for a bit.

“I should have just taken the elevator,” Daisy puffed, dropping the bag of dog food by the door. 

“Or asked me to come get it,” Mack said, arching an eyebrow. It wasn’t like Daisy had any qualms asking him with heavy lifting before.

“I didn’t want to leave England alone.” She set down the rest of the bags she was carrying, the metal bowls clanging together when they dropped onto the hardwood floor. The dog’s ears swivelled towards the noise and he shuffled closer to Mack. Mack reached down to pet the dog’s head consolingly. Hopefully once he learned he was safe he would be less skittish.

“England?”

“The dog.”

“Daisy, we can’t name the dog England. Hunter will kill me.” If he was going to have joint custody of a dog, it at least had to have a name that wouldn’t result in his boyfriend breaking up with or murdering him.

“Okay, what’s your idea, then?”

“Turbo.”

“So we can’t have a name that will make your boyfriend kill you but can have a name that will make my boyfriend kill me!?”

Mack shrugged.

“We could go with… Spot?”

“He doesn’t have any spots.” At least, Mack didn’t _think_ there were any spots - the dirt could be covering up some of them, he supposed.

“It would be ironic. But fine. Buddy?”

“Boyfriend veto.” He called Hunter buddy too often for it to also be his dog’s name. Besides, Mack always thought of Buddy as a golden retriever with big, floppy ears - not the shaggy brown (tan? White? He honestly wasn’t sure what color the dog was supposed to be) still curled at his feet.

“Fido?”

“Isn’t that kind of basic?”

“What’s your idea then?” Daisy asked, flopping onto the couch beside Mack.

“Turtle.”

“You want to name a dog Turtle, but you can’t name it Spot if it doesn’t have any spots?”

“It’s ironic,” Mack parroted, smirking. Daisy rolled her eyes at him. 

“You have the weirdest sense of humor.”

“I get it from my best friend.”

“Hey!”

“C’mon, Tremors.” Mack slung his arm around her shoulders. “You gotta admit I was a lot funnier before I met you.”

“It’s all the stress of being my friend.”

“Maybe.” Mack shrugged. “But I wouldn’t change it for the world.”


End file.
